A new twist on concierge medicine

Concierge medicine is great if you have the money to pay for a higher level of service from your physician. But for those who don’t want to pay extra — like me — concierge medicine has spelled the end of the doctor and patient relationship.

But now there’s a new hybrid model of concierge medicine that lets doctors offer the VIP service without saying goodbye to patients who don’t want to pay extra.

Dr. Dennis Egitto, a North Palm Beach internist, is the first area doctor to offer this new model. The transition is being handled by Concierge Choice Physicians
, a Long Island company with about 100 concierge doctors nationwide who are working with the hybrid model.

Egitto is offering his patients to pay $1,600 a year for concierge type care to obtain same day appointment, longer office visits and 24-hour direct phone access. But patients who opt not to pay can continue to see Egitto as they always have.

Lipton

“The hybrid model recognizes that patients have different needs: some want the convenience and additional service from the concierge model, while others are happy with the traditional practice,” said Wayne Lipton, CEO of Concierge Choice Physicians.

To the criticism that doctors will treat patients differently under this system, Lipton said doctors already handle patients differently depending on their health needs. “Doctors will handle a patient with a knee scrape differently than someone complaining of chest pain,” he said.